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‘This is not a coup d'etat,’ a civic-military rebellion in Venezuela

The Caribbean country woke up with the call to take the streets by the president in charge Juan Guaidó, who appeared in a video in the early hours of the morning along with former presidential candidate Leopoldo López, who was imprisoned for more than four years by the Nicolás Maduro regime.

The disinformation, the censorship of the national media, the intermittent energy supply and the desperation of those who are abroad, turned this Tuesday into one of the most critical episodes in the political and journalistic history of the country.

Since Juan Guaidó assumed the role of interim president at the beginning of the year, his campaign to make the citizens and the whole world understand the constitutionality of the National Assembly and the "usurpation" of Miraflores by Nicolás Maduro has been the least of his concerns.

"Cessation of the usurpation, a transitional government, and free elections," is the mantra the president of the National Assembly has repeated as a way to explain the complicated political scenario that Venezuela is going through after the fraudulent presidential elections that the regime tried to reimpose during January.

But seen from afar, the impulse of the so-called Operation Freedom seemed to decay, and many believed that it was "more of the same."

Until a considerable number of members of the Armed Forces joined the call to take to the streets this Tuesday and participated in the liberation of Leopoldo López, political leader and former presidential candidate arrested by the regime for more than four years.

"The moment is now," said Guaidó, calling for the civic takeover of the streets and the Armed Forces to support the political transition.

Almost immediately, the Maduro regime denounced a "coup d'etat" and assured that the military remained faithful to him, even though the images showed several members of the National Guard carrying purple ribbons on their arms as a symbol of support for the opposition movement.

In the streets, the clashes suddenly escalated, and by midday, the media reported dozens of wounded nationwide.

The international community, in turn, expressed support for the president in charge and the movement "for the restoration of the democracy," especially the U.S. government that, in the voice of national security adviser John Bolton, hinted that the situation had been planned beforehand and in the framework of conversations with both sides.

"The only route towards the relief of sanctions for individuals and entities aligned with the illegitimate regime of Maduro is through the generous offer of amnesty offered by Acting President Guaidó," cites the statement of the U.S. Treasury Department.

The repression by agents loyal to the regime, the communication blockade, and social media disinformation have fueled the fire of collective despair.

To outline a future picture is virtually impossible.

The so-called Grupo de Lima has met to decide amid the so-called rebellion, while Leopoldo López and his family have taken refuge in the Chilean Embassy in Caracas, and dozens of soldiers seek refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.